


Babysit My Baby Brother!

by Thorki_ed



Series: Tumblr Requests/Norsekink Prompts [20]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-09
Updated: 2012-06-09
Packaged: 2017-11-07 09:45:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorki_ed/pseuds/Thorki_ed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this <a href="http://norsekink.livejournal.com/8802.html?thread=17966178#t17966178">norsekink prompt</a>:<br/>Thor has to go on a trip for some reason, and asks the Warriors 3 to look after Loki. They agree only because they are loyal to Thor, and know that Thor loves Loki more than anything. And will probably destroy all of Asgard if he even gets so much as a scratch. They don't expect Loki to be so funny and smart, and most certainly don't expect to actually start liking him. Loki is even more surprised find he actually likes them too, and is sad they are only hanging around him because of his brother. Friendship!Fic, where the Warriors 3 learn the value of intelligence, and by the time Thor comes back the Warriors 3 are as protective of Loki as Thor is. Loki is slightly annoyed by this, but doesn't mind so much anymore because he realizes the protectiveness isn't them looking down on him it's just them showing they care, and also, he's just happy to have actual friends at this point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysit My Baby Brother!

"Volstagg!" Thor calls, "I need a quick word, if you will."

Volstagg pardons himself from Hogun and Fandral to speak with Thor.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Father has asked me to take a quick trip to Nornheim to speak with Karnilla about urgent matters. But I must leave right this instant."

"Be gone with you then!" Volstagg laughs.

"Listen to me, Volstagg," Thor says hastily. "I cannot find Loki anywhere! He is not in his chambers, or the library and I have no time to search the rest of his blasted hiding places. Promise me that you and the others will watch over him while I take my leave."

Volstagg agrees, seeing the impatience upon Thor's face, "Now go before Odin throws you into the Bifrost himself!"

With a last smile, the God of Thunder was bounding away leaving the chuckling Volstagg to tell the rest of the Warriors Three.

__

"You said what?!" Hogun shouts. Even at Volstagg's size, he shrinks away from Hogun's tone. "Do you realize that if there is so much as one hair misplaced on that trickster's head, we'll all DIE?"

A pessimist, he is.

Fandral shakes his head, but defends Volstagg anyway, "Thor is a friend, and he is in need of a favour. If we cannot so much accepy a simple task like this with honour and bravery, what right do we have to label ourselves warriors?"

"This is a maiden's works," Hogun huffs. "Sif should be the one doing this, not us men."

Volstagg tries to lighten the mood, "Hey, Loki's always been kinda quiet, how much harm could he cause? Besides, Sif is helping Lady Frigga on a trip to Alfheim."

Hogun just grunts, neither agreeing or disagreeing though it is safer to say the latter.

"Let's go find the damn runt. I do not feel like being electrocuted." He says a moment later.

__

They find him curled high up in an apple tree, using his cape as a blanket. 

"Loki!" Volstagg shouts up to him.

Startled, Loki falls out of the tree and only manages to vanish a moment before his nose hits the ground, and reappears behind them.

"Was there any purpose to that?" he says coldly, not taking his interrupted sleep very lightly.

"Well ah, Thor has been sent away for a while," Volstagg informs him.

Loki stiffens. "I see."

"He wanted to say goodbye, said you couldn't be found in your chambers or the library."

"Well that's because this tree doesn't happen to be in either of those places, does it now?" Loki snapped.

To his surprise, Hogun releases a loud laugh, and Fandral remains snickering behind his hand. Eventually, Volstagg gives in and laughs with them, "No. No, I don't suppose it it." He swings a protective arm around his shoulders, and starts steering him towards the Great Hall. 

They seat Loki with them, which is odd for Loki, but comforting. He sees Thor's place at the head of the table empty, and his heart drops a little.

Noticing Loki's long face, Volstagg shoves celery sticks up his nostrils and turns to Loki, crossing his eyes. Loki bursts out into laughter, and it catches everyone off guard. His laugh is light, and flowing, like butterflies dancing in the sun. His perfect teeth line up in a grin that could light up a whole room, and his green eyes shone softly. The Warriors are completely mesmerized by this sound they had never heard before, and can't help but smile with him. Only then does Loki takes the bones of the ribs he's devoured and shoves them between his upper lip and gums. Then he waves his hands in the air to conjure up the cry of a battle mammoth.  
The Warriors laugh hysterically watching the battle mammoth and celery-man face off in a duel. The others quickly join in, even Hogun, much to even his own surprise. Odin and Frigga are too delighted to see their young one smiling to put a stop to the nonsense. Soon, the whole Hall is filled with laughter.

Before the night is over, they have reduced themselves to tears, and found that Loki is just as much fun to be around as Thor (if not more fun) and ask him to come down to the practice ring tomorrow.

Embarrassed, he confesses that he's not much of a fighter, but three against one soon proves to be no match for him. When they bid goodnight, he finds he is actually quite looking forward to tomorrow.

__

Back in his chambers, Loki finds a note with Thor's distinctive chicken scratch on it.

_Brother, it saddens me that I could not find you to bid farewell, so I hope you may find this soon and know I have not abandoned you. I shall be back within the week, I promise. In the meantime, I have asked the Warriors Three to accompany you, so that you may not feel lonely without me. I think you shall like them if you give them a chance. Expect a souvenir for your collection when I arrive home._  
Take care, brother. I send you my love from wherever I may be now,  
Thor. 

Loki was conflicted now - he was touched that Thor had thought to leave a note, and excited for a new souvenir. Though he did not like travelling, he marvelled about each realm from the description in books he had read. Thor took it upon him to bring something back whenever he journeys outside of Asgard. However, it also saddened him that Thor had asked the Warriors to keep them company, and knowing Thor it was probably a demand. Loki tossed and turned that night at the thought that his "friends" were more like "paid accompany". It was like prostitution without taking their clothes off for crying out loud! Grumbling, he fell into a night of interrupted sleep.

__

Loki woke to furious knocking at his door and groaned sleepily, "Who is it?"

"You missed morning practice!" came Volstagg's voice.

Quickly dressing himself, he opens the door to reveal two of Warriors with concerned faces as they asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

Loki would have revealed what he knew, but the genuine concern he saw in their eyes made him decide against it. He lied smoothly, "I awoke feeling slightly off, but am finding myself much better now. Shall we grab something to eat?"

Voltagg smiled greatly at Loki's offer, thinking Loki had actually opened up to them. "Come! Let us find Hogun in the Hall."  
And with that, Loki walked between two of the most distinguished and honoured warriors in all of Asgard.

During lunch, they brainstorm for things to do in the afternoon. Again outvoted three to one, Loki finds himself down by the stables getting ready to hunt. 

 

Once they had ridden out to the denser forests, they split up into two teams to make a game out of it. They - well, Volstagg, Fandral, and Loki - agreed that Hogun would take Loki seeing as Loki had never hunted before, but Hogun was the most experienced in the sport, therefore making the teams as even as possible.

"In an hour, let us meet here and see which has more game!" They marked the tree with an arrow and set off in opposite directions. Volstagg and Fandral quickly took east, where the river encouraged more animals to come out of the bushery for a drink.

"We should go north instead of west," Loki says.

"Blast them for taking the east, it's practically cheating. Still, I'm a master at this, and I'll win it for the both of us if you just stay outta way and for the love of gods, do not injure yourself."

So Loki turns north, not caring if Hogun is following. After slowing his horse, ties it to a nearby tree and starts wiggling his fingers. The motions cause the vines around him to form nets in the trees and snares in the ground. He clambers up the tallest tree to scout the area and places his traps strategically. 

When the hour is up, Loki has so many trapped animals he has to weave a gigantic net to tie to the back of his horse's saddle. The weight slows him, and he is thankful for not riding too far from the starting point.

When he arrives, the others have returned, and are staring at him - well his net rather - with shock painted on their faces.

"Hello!" Loki smiles broadly and waves from the top of his horse.  
Hogun was stil having a hard time picking his jaw up off the floor, but Volstagg and Fandral are circling around Loki's captures, making delighted comments about how the feast would be wonderful tonight with all they have captured today. Loki thanks them for their praises before reminding them of their friendly competition with a cheeky grin.

Sighing, Fandral admits their prey count at 34 between the two of them. Loki's net alone carried 37. 

"Hey, I've got 15 you know," Hogun adds in with a huff.

The others laugh, and congratulate him and Loki on their win.

"Now, let's eat!" Volstagg announces, smacking his lips for emphasis. They turn to ride back, but Hogun lags behind just enough to mutter "not bad, kid." 

Loki takes it, knowing it is as much of a compliment he might ever get from Hogun. He secretly swells with pride.

Back at the castle, they begin to sort their day's work. Because Loki's traps had been non-lethal and he had seen how much food they had, he secretly takes two of the bunnies back to his chambers; a fair coloured bunny and a black one with a white patch upon his chest. The fair coloured one is his favoured of the two; his ears flopped downwards, often swinging in front of his eyes and face, and was rather feisty. Conjuring a spacious cage for them, Loki decides that when the sunlight hits his fur just right, he truly looks like sunshine, hopping around his cage and bouncing off the walls. Loki decides to name him Thor, for the resemblance. He leaves the black one unnamed, for Thor, when he gets back. 

With heaping portions of extra game tonight, the feast is especially delicious and when the Warriors announce that they must thank Loki for it, the Hall explodes with applause and cheers. Loki discreetly snaps a picture with a spark of his fingertips to summon later, to remember this as one of the best moments of his life.

Alive with food and wine, the Warriors Three decide they want to do more, and ask Loki to join them. 

"Those traps were genius! Tricky you are, but if that earns a feast every night, I second it always!" Loki blushes, and thanks Volstagg. He then suggests a round of Tailing, a game he thought of himself. It involved partnerships that allowed no communication, therefore relying on trust and leaving the other one clues about your next moves, and trapping the opponent's pieces, the warriors are intrigued. Breaking off in teams (Volstagg & Loki VS Fandral and Hogun this time), they begin. After every round, they switch partners until they have tried all the combinations - every team Loki has been on has won, to nobody's surprise.

"Well you invented the game! Of course you have the edge with all the practice!" Hogun says.

"Actually, this is the first time I've played it myself," Loki says with a small smile. "I'm glad it was with you three whom I have had this pleasure."

"Wait a second... why haven't you played this before? It was loads of fun! Surely nobody would turn down such a game!" Fandral says bewildered.

"They haven't turned it down... I just never asked." Then Loki adds more quietly, "Truthfully, I've never really even had three friends to ask."

The Warriors look upon him with new eyes now. He is no longer the frantic, frail, bug-eyed nerd they had thought. He shone now, his magic, shying away, and hard studying being misinterpreted. He was just a gentle soul with a miracle of a mind and no way to tell people so. He was one of them now. 

"Let's play another round," Hogun suggests, and flashes Loki a smile.

They all do. And for once, Loki feels like he is one of them.

__

When Thor returns to Asgard, he finds the Hall unusually empty. Frigga and Sif had not returned, Odin Allfather must be attending duties elsehwere... but where would everyone else be?

Thor decides he may as well rest and groom before feasting tonight, and hopefully find Loki in their conjoined bed chambers. Once in his room, he tosses Mjolnir and his bag beside the door. After properly showering and dressing, he reaches for his bag to retrieve Loki's gift. A smoothed iron serpent, carved by Karnilla herself. Because it was bewitched to perfection, it shone like polished steel, and the detail was more intense than he had ever seen, but Karnilla insisted it was flawed, and should be thrown in the firepit. Thor intervened to rescue the beautiful little statue, thinking of how Loki had often saved stray animals he found in the garden, nursing them back to health before letting them loose. 

Then he heard laughter - loud laughter from the other side of the door that joined his room to Loki's. The laughter was obviously Volstagg's, and Thor was happy they were keeping Loki company as promised, but found it odd they had gotten close enough to him to be in his chambers. Loki didn't allow anybody in his room, not even Odin and Frigga.

He swung the doors open to reveal Loki and the Warriors Three in the middle of some sort of game that involved sticking playing cards to their foreheads for everyone to see. His look of utter confusion only fueled the laughter.

"Alright, alright. Loki wins this round," Fandral says surrendering, "I'm famished."

"He's won every round!" protested Volstagg.

"You're surprised?" Hogun says.

The three get up to leave, giving Thor time with his brother.

Loki smiles at Thor - a genuine, happy smile that makes his dimples prominent. 

"Welcome home, Thor! Nice trip?"

Thor can't stand it any more, he pulls Loki towards him in a giant hug and nuzzles Loki in the neck with scruffy beard, "Brother, I am so glad to see you! Here," he hands Loki the statue.

In his hands, the snake begins to spiral, shining even more intensely. Loki squeals with delight, "An enchanted pet serpent! This is wonderful! How did you know!?" 

Without waiting for Thor's answer, he spins his fingers, make the snake spiral and dance, and his eyes were filled with amusement. Thor was just going to pretend like he knew all along. "It was carved by Karnilla herself, though she said something about it being flawed. I did not see such thing, so I brought it home anyway."

"She must be mad, or perhaps it's supposed to grow into a giant monster. Or have a mind of it's own to attack others? Maybe the fangs weren't large enough? No blood on the fangs? Who knows. Still, this is lovely, I will treasure it always. Thank you, brother." 

Thor was chuckling, pleased by his brother's ramblings.

"I got you something as well." 

"Oh?" Thor was surprised as this was not tradition.

"Come look!" Loki swept aside giant curtains to reveal a cage holding two small bunnies. "I sort of claimed this guy," he pointed to the golden one. 

Thor waved his hand, not really paying attention. His eyes were focused on the green ones of the black bunny. "Hi there," he whispered gently, poking a massive finger in the cage. The bunny ran in the other direction, hiding behind a plastic slide. He poked his head out, ran for Thor's fingers and sniffed it. He repeated this motion before finally coming at a rest underneath Thor's finger, slowly running his forehead along it.

"Well, he seems to like you," Loki remarked.

"And I him," Thor responded. "May I have this one?"

Loki laughed, "Yes Thor, I claimed the golden one anyway, long ago."

"Not to offend you brother, but he looks like a Loki to me," Thor said with a smile, "and the similarities are uncanny - look at the way he hides and studies the approaching force before deciding whether or not he wanted to engage. And how warm he is. And how soft."

Loki flicks the back of his head, "I am not soft. But I am not offended."

"Good."

"Mainly because I've already named mine Thor."

Then he waltzes out the door, laughing to himself while leaving Thor frowing.

__

Catching up with him at the Great Hall, Thor spots the Warriors - and Loki, seated together. 

"Volstagg, a word?" Thor says with a jerk of his head.

"Sure thing!" he bounds happily to the corner with Thor.

"I appreciate you all keeping him company, but I am back now. You need not do any of this any more."

"Thor, we're not doing this for you." Thor was taken aback. "No offense, really. I mean, we were at first, and I'm sure you know Hogun was all huffy puffy about it... but even he is now truly seeing your brother for who he is. Loki is a gentle soul, and what we thought was rude behaviour before... Well, we realize now that it was only because he had nobody to consider a friend other than you. He's not a bad guy, Thor. He's even funnier than you."

Thor had nothing to say, but felt himself smiling. He was thankful his friends were finally seeing Loki like he did, and this would be good for his little brother.

Re-joining them at the table, he asks "So, when do I get to learn to play Tailing?"

"Actually, I've been running ideas on how to make it a five player game instead, but no worries brother, I shall have the solution soon enough," Loki chirps. 

"Of course you will," Hogun says, slapping his arm across Loki's shoulders, making poor Loki sag under the weight.

This time, they all laughed, and it became the song that never ends.


End file.
